Pandey had consumed poison before Uttarakhand Agriculture Minister Subodh Uniyal last week after he suffered losses allegedly due to demonetisation and GST

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Tuesday ordered a magisterial probe into the death case of a debt-ridden businessman named Prakash Pandey, who died today in a hospital where he was admitted after he had consumed poison at ‘Janata Darbar’ in Dehradun last week, reports ANI. Pandey had consumed poison before Uttarakhand Agriculture Minister Subodh Uniyal last week after he suffered losses allegedly due to demonetisation and GST. According to PTI reports, Pandey who was a resident of Haldwani, the largest city in the Kumaun region, had recounted his story to Agriculture Minister during a Janata Darbar programme at the BJP office in the state capital on Saturday.

During the programme, Pandey narrated his misfortunes and had introduced himself as a transporter. He told the minister that he was struggling to repay his loans after his business suffered loss due to demonetisation and the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax. He also told the reasons behind him consuming poison was that he was unable to grab the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and BJP chief Amit Shah whom he was contacting through letters. When BJP workers realised Pandey had consumed poison, they rushed him in the minister’s car to Doon Hospital, from where he was later referred to Max Hospital in Dehradun.

Pandey today succumbed in the Intensive Care Unit of Max Hospital. Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said he was sad to learn about Pandey’s death. According to PTI, He told Rawat told reporters, “We have just been informed that Mr Pandey passed away at Max Hospital. It is extremely sad to hear this. Doctors attending him tried hard to save him.” The CM added that Pandey was on life support, but could not be saved “as he had taken more than the fatal dose of poison.”

Former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat said the death was a “shameful” incident for the state government.